96. Hopelessness

96. Hopelessness
Margaret

Wherever I went, I couldn't see him because of the hood covering my head.

I trembled from head to toe, praying to the heavens that Nikolay would realize soon and rescue me from the hell I was surely being taken to. I tried not to sob and held my belly protectively, straining my ears to whatever I could hear.

I wanted to see where I was going; the uncertainty was killing me, as well as the sadness of not being able to see Nikolay, not being by his side as planned.

Who would be the son of a bitch capable of planning something like this? Of ending my happiness in just moments?

I felt my eyelids weighing heavy from the time I had been imprisoned; I didn't even have a sense of how much time had passed. My head throbbed with pain, and my legs trembled; I felt like I was going to faint.

They released me, and I fell to the ground, hearing murmurs around me; I groped to retrieve my phone, but it was snatched away from me, and soon I had three silhouettes in front of me, only one I recognized immediately.

"Mike?" I murmured incredulously.

He smiled widely and caressed my cheek, looking at me in that way that made me bristle with disgust.

In the room were two more guys. I could barely focus on them, I was dazed and my vision was blurry.

"How pretty," another muttered with a hoarse voice.

"Leave her alone," my... Mike snapped. I couldn't call him my brother anymore, not after this.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" I pleaded with a pleading voice, feeling a slight pang in my stomach. "Please... I'm pregnant."

I couldn't bring my hands to my belly because they were tied up. Why was Mike doing this to me, after our talk, where he asked for forgiveness for everything? Damn liar.

"Relax, my love. The doctor is coming."

He's messed up, damn it.

I closed my eyes because I didn't want to look at him. He had done everything; because of his damn debt, I had been kidnapped by Nikolay and then by Fernando, now he was in front of me, calling me "love" and looking at me indecently.

Was he drugged?

My body trembled. And Nikolay?

"I want to see my husband," I blurt out without thinking, in a challenging manner.

Mike's eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be holding himself back. Screw him.

"He's not your husband, Margaret..."

"You don't have the right to bring me here by force either!" I shouted with anger and desperation. "I was going to meet him, and you interfered!"

"He interfered between us, damn it!" he shouted back, losing his patience. "Everything was fine between us until..."

"Everything was fine until you decided to have that debt and on top of it, steal from the Nazis!" I yelled back, and within seconds, I felt a huge dizziness that made me close my eyes. "Ouch..."

"Margo!" Mike rushed to me quickly, but I pushed him away with a swipe. "Margo, tell me you're okay."

"I need... to rest," I muttered hoarsely, feeling my body tremble again, this time from stress and exhaustion.

"Come, my love, I'll give you a shower and change your clothes, I'll take care of you now," I tried to struggle so he wouldn't touch me, but I lost consciousness.

I heard voices in the background as my eyelids started fluttering.

"Yes, sir, your wife will be fine, she just needs to rest for a few days, the blow to her hip isn't severe, but due to her condition, we need to be cautious," it was a voice I didn't recognize.

"I really appreciate your help, doctor," I knew that voice well.

Nikolay? No, Mike.

I wanted to scream and tell him he was crazy, that he had kidnapped me, but my hands and voice didn't react, I couldn't move.

Once again, sweet unconsciousness came over me.

I felt some caresses on my face, I opened my eyes, and my world crumbled when I saw who claimed to be my brother and love me in front of me. That sick bastard.

"Good morning, my love," he had his hands tied, fortunately for him.

"Let me go already, you're crazy. How dare you kidnap me? Nikolay, when he finds out..."

"He won't," he cuts me off abruptly, looking at me apprehensively, "and you better cooperate if you don't want anything to happen to your beloved mobster."

"What are you saying? How can you talk like this after what Nikolay did for you?" I questioned incredulously. "Thanks to him, the Nazis didn't turn you into pulp!"

"Thanks to him, they tortured me for months; I would have only found a way to come out victorious!" his face was as red as a beet.

"You're despicable," I muttered with disgust, sighing.

My head is pounding. God, it hurts.

He jumped up and paced around the room quickly.

"This shouldn't have been like this; you should have been with me, married to me, not with that trash!" he shouted. He's very wrong, terribly wrong. "This is your fault, and if you don't cooperate, be prepared for the consequences of what will happen to that bastard."

"If you dare..."

"Don't threaten me, my love, you're not in a position to," his smile was perverse, cynical. "I know it's very recent now, but soon you'll come to your senses and realize that it's best for you to be with me. We were happy, Margaret, we had very good times. We can be happy together, my love.”

But what the hell was he talking about? I felt like throwing up, and my head was about to explode.

"Only Nikolay calls me that, only him, because he's the only one I love and will love for the rest of my life."

"You'll come to your senses," he spoke so calmly that it frightened me. "Here are the headache pills the doctor prescribed for you." He tried to kiss me, but I turned my head away. "I'm doing all this for us, I love you."

I wanted to scream at him, but my headache was too strong.

He left, and I shed tears of helplessness and pain, for not being able to be with Nikolay and his family. He must be going through hell, I was sure of it.

This was madness; I had to get out of here and go back home; my head was pounding. God, it hurt.

I turned my head and saw the box of pills; I grabbed it and swallowed them as best as I could. I covered my head with a pillow, wanting to cry.

This couldn't be happening, it couldn't, it couldn't. I should be at home with Nikolay, with my future husband.

"Don't worry, love, I'll be with you soon.”